Carl Heinz Petersen Abramelin and O.T.O.
X° Ordo Templi Orientis

Karl GermerHermann Joseph MetzgerEugen Grosche

P.R.
Koenig

Carl Heinz Petersen was born on 14 January 1912 in Hamburg and through
Karl Germer and Gerald Yorke contacted the many Thelemites in Europe.
Germer considered Petersen "a man of the very highest promise!"
and hoped for a collaboration between Petersen and Kenneth Grant. In
May 1953 Petersen visited Metzger's Abbey of Thelema in Switzerland
(which Metzger saw as recognition of his own IX°). Germer gave Petersen
the task of translating Crowley's O.T.O.-rituals, the Gnostic Mass,
Liber AL, the Hymn to Pan and Yorke's "666, Sex and the O.T.O." which
all eventually found their way to the German public. Germer was very
bitter when Petersen also translated Crowley material for Eugen
Grosche's magazine.

In 1953 when he closed the Agape Lodge in California, Germer took no
definite decision as to International Headquarters of the O.T.O. but
nourished the idea "of settling up Headquarters in Europe, Germany,
or Switzerland." (Why Germer preferred the German speaking area? An
unknown informant to the FBI-files on Karl Germer reported that "His conversation is violent
Nazi-Propoganda" and that Germer opined "that Hitler is right in
believing Germans are the Master Race".)

Regarding Petersen's X° in Germany, Germer remained insecure
whether two Grandmasters could operate the O.T.O. at the same time in
one country (Traenker still being alive), despite the fact that Crowley
also appointed Germer as Grandmaster X° of all the German-speaking
people as far back as 1941.

Things went well in Switzerland and Metzger received the permission
from Karl Germer to officially give his O.T.O. the by-name "Master
Therion's authorised Successor" in 1955. Soon thereafter Petersen
started to work on his Abramelin-Exercises. His sexmagical partner, his
cousin Frau Pingwill commited suicide in 1956 - he died shortly after
in a Hamburg hospital on 4 April 1957. According to his Last Will and
Testament, Petersen's heirs were to be Metzger and Lekve.

In 1957, all the leading O.T.O. protagonists in Europe being dead
(Hilfiker,
Traenker, Lekve,
Petersen) Metzger remained the only
surviving IX° and X° in Europe and Germer considered him as "the
sole
aspirant to the Crown". When Germer died. Metzger was elected OHO
by his members in January 1963 which was approved by Germer's widow:
"Frater Saturnus [Germerl Will and Wish was: that Frater
Paragranus
[Metzger] takes the Heavy Burden off his Shoulders".
Friedrich Mellinger, co-executor of Germer's Will, on the other
hand unsuccesfully tried to put a stop to that.